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Deliveroo raises $385M in new funding

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Re: Deliveroo raises $385M in new funding

#71

Post by erdle »

CPLX wrote: post #15
marenkay wrote: post #5

Another unicorn that can only exist because it uses fake self-employment to turn their workforce into a cheaper one. Just like Uber and so many others this only works because for some reason turning paid work into something that is not even self-sustaining suddenly is accepted. Does nobody have ethical issues with seeing value in devaluing people?

While I strongly agree with your overall sentiment it's worth noting that this is not a new startup-developed characteristic. The people driving FedEx delivery trucks to your office are independent contractors too.

Some Fedex Ground routes are awarded to independent companies, as in a local company that bids on the region or route. But it's not all Fedex deliveries and I can't vouch for every company that has one of theses routes as to the employment status of their drivers. And as far as I know, Fedex is not giving our Ground routes to individual contractors. And as far as I know Fedex Express is not handled by any outside contractors. Express and Ground are essentially 2 separate businesses within Fedex.

Re: Deliveroo raises $385M in new funding

#72

Post by john_moscow »

whipoodle wrote: post #67
cs702 wrote: post #64

All these new delivery startups remind me of Kozmo.com, which raised quite a bit of money from high-profile investors (including Fred Wilson and Amazon[1]) and even filed for an IPO in 2000. Kozmo.com described itself this way in its IPO filing: "We enable consumers to order a variety of entertainment, food and convenience products over the Internet for free delivery in under one hour. Our promise of under one hour d…

I work for a company worth billions. I've talked to entrepreneurs who "already tried the idea" for the sort of business I work at. I guess how you execute matters, or something.

Is the company you work for actually profitable?

Re: Deliveroo raises $385M in new funding

#73

Post by ue_ »

sleavey wrote: post #53
mattmanser wrote: post #16

I find it funny they're claiming some sort of AI system will help them make better margins. In my city, Nottingham. all the deliveroo people gather in Trinity Square waiting for jobs. There's obviously no special AI needed. I do think though that it raises the issue that they should be paying for their own business premises and stop using our public spaces as their company waiting spots.

To be fair, a few motorbikes/bicycles temporarily waiting next to each other is not such a big deal to me in comparison to the fact that roughly half of every street in every big city in the UK is dedicated to parked cars. Putting aside the apparently shitty working conditions at gig economy companies like Deliveroo (which I dearly hope will be resolved with all the recent bad publicity around Uber and co), I like th…

You say that Deliveroo has shitty working conditions and I probably don't disagree (I know nothing of them), but I'm a second year university student and I'm being pressured to find a job by my parents while I'm here; Deliveroo seems like my best bet at the moment with flexible hours; I probably wouldn't be making any more than minimum wage elsewhere anyway.

I hope that's some insight as to why it's attractive to some people. If you know anything more about Deliveroo or other places I could look for jobs I'd be grateful, as it would really aid my search.

As a side note, I despise the way it is called the "sharing economy"; it's no sharing at all, and I wish this term were reserved for ideas I regard as more noble, like the gift economy, or a model in which people chip in a certain amount to a shared product on a large scale (such as democratic management of the economy).

Re: Deliveroo raises $385M in new funding

#74

Post by CamelCaseName »

albertgoeswoof wrote: post #63
throwawaylalala wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don’t they get a discount on the food? That’s how a lot of the other services make it...

Looks like from the comments below they can take out 30% of the cost of the food. Assuming average of £20/order, that's £6/order, which could work. Still doesn't seem like a great deal for the consumer / restaurant. E.g. I'm paying £8.50 of a £22.50 order purely on delivery, and I don't even get table service...

Part of the idea is that you were already paying that £6, or more, in advertising costs the restaurant pays and that Deliveroo is more efficient at customer acquisition than the average restaurant is.

Re: Deliveroo raises $385M in new funding

#75

Post by tommoor »

amyboyd wrote: post #20
orf wrote: post #10

For those wondering about these numbers, Deliveroo has a great concept, solid execution and huge brand recognition. Just-eat (worth 4.6B) connects people to shitty takeaways and has a terrible website. Deliveroo connects people to restaurants and provides the delivery service themselves, through bikers (here in London). They have taken this and spread throughout Europe. They are going to (and are) completely canablis…

What makes you think Just-Eat ran out of steam "years ago"? Stock price is higher than ever: http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/prices-and-marke... They are reporting good growth: http://www.cityam.com/256734/just-eat-reported-order-growth-... I see lots of Deliveroo bikes around where I live in the centre of London, but they are basically non-existant when I go to other towns and cities. Also, Deliveroo sta…

> they can't go down to selling cheap Chinese takeaway food, because it will hurt their image

Oh, they totally can if the margins work. Just look at Uber which started as a black car service.

Re: Deliveroo raises $385M in new funding

#76

Post by triplesec »

BillinghamJ wrote: post #55
skrebbel wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's even worse than Uber. With Uber, at least you can drive for multiple companies at the same time. If you want to bike for both Deliveroo and, say, Foodora you need to first go home and swap one branded backpack for the other. (Not sure if that's an international thing - here in NL the delivery people use bikes and have branded backpacks)

In the UK, it’s very common to see riders with a wide mix of differently branded clothing, bikes, boxes, etc. Very common for them to be working for Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Jinn, Etefy, etc. all at the same time There may be some kind of rule around consistent branding, but I have never seen it enforced.

I've never seen this but that is really interesting. I'm surprised they don't prevent them from doing that but I'm glad that they don't

Re: Deliveroo raises $385M in new funding

#78

Post by throwawaylalala »

CamelCaseName wrote: post #74
albertgoeswoof wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looks like from the comments below they can take out 30% of the cost of the food. Assuming average of £20/order, that's £6/order, which could work. Still doesn't seem like a great deal for the consumer / restaurant. E.g. I'm paying £8.50 of a £22.50 order purely on delivery, and I don't even get table service...

Part of the idea is that you were already paying that £6, or more, in advertising costs the restaurant pays and that Deliveroo is more efficient at customer acquisition than the average restaurant is.

Exactly. It broadens your target market. Channel takes ~1/3rd in the software industry...

Re: Deliveroo raises $385M in new funding

#79

Post by victorology »

CamelCaseName wrote: post #74
albertgoeswoof wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looks like from the comments below they can take out 30% of the cost of the food. Assuming average of £20/order, that's £6/order, which could work. Still doesn't seem like a great deal for the consumer / restaurant. E.g. I'm paying £8.50 of a £22.50 order purely on delivery, and I don't even get table service...

Part of the idea is that you were already paying that £6, or more, in advertising costs the restaurant pays and that Deliveroo is more efficient at customer acquisition than the average restaurant is.

I think it's also about how you don't need the front of house elements for a delivery order. No need for extra real estate for tables, wait staff, etc. All you need is a kitchen, someone to cook the food and the ingredients.

Re: Deliveroo raises $385M in new funding

#80

Post by gist »

whipoodle wrote: post #67
cs702 wrote: post #64

All these new delivery startups remind me of Kozmo.com, which raised quite a bit of money from high-profile investors (including Fred Wilson and Amazon[1]) and even filed for an IPO in 2000. Kozmo.com described itself this way in its IPO filing: "We enable consumers to order a variety of entertainment, food and convenience products over the Internet for free delivery in under one hour. Our promise of under one hour d…

I work for a company worth billions. I've talked to entrepreneurs who "already tried the idea" for the sort of business I work at. I guess how you execute matters, or something.

Among other reasons Kozmo failed a) prior to smartphones and b) when there were less people using the internet.
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